Hello everyone and welcome to The Slormite Chronicles #56! This month, we’re taking a look back at the work we've accomplished in November. As mentioned in our previous Slormite Chronicles, we started from scratch on a new class. This time, unlike our experiments with the Rogue Mode, there were no nasty surprises, everything turned out to be quite smooth and straightforward. We weren’t sure what challenges we would face, nor were we certain this would be the class we’d add, but for now, all signs are green. Creating a Class The design of the first three classes dates back nearly two years before Early Access, more than six years for us, and it’s really interesting to revisit that. The game has evolved a lot since then, and the constraints are no longer the same. Back then, we had almost none of the other layers that now make up the game: maybe a few Slorm Reapers (in their very first version), but no Ultimatums, Traits, Ancestral Legacy, Legendaries, Runes, Inventory, etc. This actually makes class creation much easier. Back then, we had to be cautious with more generic effects that we preferred to reserve as the base for Slorm Reapers or legendary effects. Now that everything is in place, it’s fairly simple to navigate and fill in the gaps with what’s missing, or at least take into account what already exists and avoid redundancy. A class consists of 8 Active Skills, 3 Support Skills (with their specializations), one class mechanic, and between 3 and 4 sub-mechanics. In total, there are roughly 220 effects (Active, Upgrades, and Passives) to design. It’s a lot. We started by laying the foundations of the class mechanic, then the sub-mechanics the class would have. Once these were in place, the identity of the class became clear, and we could quite easily design skills based on all these ideas. Where We Stand The first step was creating a big spreadsheet with all the ideas for mechanics and skills thrown together. Then we cleaned it up, because writing the tooltip that will appear in-game requires a good deal of clarification and helps us ensure that we’ve accounted for all the parameters of a skill (mana cost, duration, range, etc.). With a well-written tooltip and a clear logic, almost half of the coding work is already done since I know exactly what needs to be implemented. We’re currently at this stage. About 75% of the effects exist in a more or less rough form, which we’re now refining. In doing so, the remaining missing effects usually become obvious. For example, if two upgrades of the same tier are useful for two very specific builds, adding a third, more generic upgrade that is useful by default becomes quite easy. Once everything is polished in a first version, I can jump straight into coding. But since the brainstorming is done by both of us, the art side only kicked off in mid-November when I started finalizing the tooltips on my end. We already have the base sprite (idle, no animation) and a design we really like, distinct enough from the other three classes but still keeping the Slormancer spirit. So… What Is This Class?! Spoiler alert: Names, mechanics, and effects are all still very much subject to change. Between finalizing, implementation, and testing, we’re far from the final effects. The class we’re working on has the codename “ The Whimsical Witch .” She wields a Scythe and casts witchy spells. Among other things, she can: gather ingredients to brew potions with various effects, spread Infection and disease around her, or open a third eye to cast spells from another position. We didn’t necessarily aim to fill a gameplay gap in the game, since we feel it’s relatively complete at this point. Even though the Necromancer class is highly requested, it’s not everyone’s cup of tea. We wanted to build a unique class with its own mechanics, with a possible minion-focused build and a more passive gameplay style. That said, given The Slormancer’s constraints and our desire for all Slorm Reapers to be playable with this new class, we kept a classic foundation with melee attacks, projectiles, and AoEs. A Little Teaser: Soulstones and Minions For minion enthusiasts, one of the Witch’s class mechanics (similar to the Mage’s Clones) allows certain spells to be converted into more or less permanent Minions. Here’s how it works in more detail: The Whimsical Witch has some spells with the keyword “Life” that launch projectiles or AoEs. For example, “Spectral Bat Fling” launches a bat at an enemy. It’s a homing projectile that applies a DoT on hit. With the right upgrade, once the projectile finishes, the Spectral Bat becomes a Minion that can autonomously attack nearby enemies for a short duration. This duration is determined by your Soulstone reserve, which fills up when casting “Death” spells. By building your character with the right upgrades, it’s possible to reduce Soulstone usage and gain them passively, allowing for a more or less passive Minion-focused build depending on your preference. Beyond Bats, The Whimsical Witch can also summon Toads, Spiders, and Ghosts, which, once their skill effect ends, can become Minions. That’s it for this first teaser. See you in 2026 for another year full of Slorm! Merry Christmas! Cheers!

Hello everyone and welcome to The Slormite Chronicles #55! A Little Word About the Slormite Chronicles Since the game’s release, we’ve stopped following a strict roadmap like we did during Early Access. We also don’t have a specific “end goal” in mind that would mark The Slormancer as “complete” or signal a point where we should stop developing updates. Right now, we’re simply trying to follow our inspiration. Without a clear post–Early Access plan, that means we’ve been experimenting here and there, trying things that don’t always lead to meaningful or well-integrated content. Back in Early Access, creating new missions or Slorm Reapers felt natural, we were filling gaps in the game. Now, the game doesn’t really have gaps anymore. It’s technically “complete.” We could keep adding more, but at this point, we’d just be filling an already full glass. Back to the Drawing Board In many ways, we’ve gone back to where we started, taking time to brainstorm and test ideas that sometimes turn out... not that exciting. That’s why it’s been hard for me to write new Slormite Chronicles with genuinely thrilling news to share. Apart from “We’re thinking hard!”, there’s not much I can say right now. And I’ve always regretted revealing things too early. And at this stage, everything still is too early. I often put pressure on myself to make each Chronicle exciting. But sometimes, that leads to announcing things too soon just to keep it interesting. I’d like to stop doing that. From now on, some Chronicles, like this one, might be shorter and less packed with new content. That’s simply because we don’t have much to show yet. We’ve even taken a small step back in some areas (more on that below). The Chronicles were a perfect format back when we released updates every two or three months. That’s less true now. Still, I don’t plan to stop writing them, I want to see this development through to the end, even if that means some Chronicles are just about “We’re thinking hard!” And since we’re now leaning toward an Expansion model rather than smaller DLCs or frequent updates, most of what we’re working on isn’t something you’ll see in the next few weeks anyway. But instead of pausing the Slormite Chronicles completely, I’d rather keep posting shorter updates like this one, just to give you some news. About That Rogue Mode Speaking of things we’re thinking hard about, let’s talk about the Rogue Mode. Back in Chronicles #53, we mentioned the possibility of adding one, and most comments were enthusiastic. Then, in Chronicles #54, when we got into more detail, many of you raised very valid points against the idea. After reading through all the feedback, our conclusion was: “There are already so many great roguelikes out there. Why try to make another one that might end up being mediocre, instead of focusing on content that truly fits The Slormancer?” And, honestly, that’s true. When I tested the first prototype, I found myself raising more questions than I could answer. It wasn’t just your feedback, we also felt it internally. It became increasingly difficult to adapt all the game’s systems to fit a roguelike structure. So, for now, we’ve decided to pause development on the Rogue Mode and go back to simpler, more interesting, and easier-to-implement ideas. A New Class (Maybe) I can’t share much at this point, no screenshots, no visuals, because we’re still at the Excel spreadsheet stage. It’s way too early to promise anything, or even guarantee it’ll make it into the game, but yes, we’re sketching out a new class. Console Port And finally, a little piece of news that is quite exciting: the console port is progressing well! Lately, we’ve implemented trophies for PlayStation, as well as achievements for Xbox. Also, alongside the Nintendo Switch, The Slormancer will also be coming to Switch 2! No release date yet, but things are moving forward nicely. That's about it! Cheers!

Hello everyone and welcome to The Slormite Chronicles #54! In the last Slormite Chronicles, we talked about several questions we were asking ourselves regarding the future of the game’s development, things like our sales model (DLCs, paid cosmetics, expansions, etc.) and the direction for the fifth game mode. We received a big number of responses, probably more than ever before in a Slormite Chronicles. It was really interesting to read through them all, and it helped us make some key decisions. Toward an Expansion As for updates and the overall development model, we’ve decided to focus on creating a large expansion that will include everything we’re currently working on, as well as everything planned for the coming months. It’s not impossible that we might release a small update in between, but that’s not the plan for now. Nor is it impossible that we’ll change our minds mid-development, that’s not uncertainty, that’s agile development! Progress on the Rogue Mode On the development side, we’ve started exploring ideas for The Slormancer’s “Roguelike” mode. I spent some time experimenting with an idea where the player would control Bryan (the little blue orb) and issue commands to the hero, who would move semi-automatically, something like a Survivors-like. Long story short, it didn’t work. There wasn’t much interesting happening on-screen or for the player, so I quickly abandoned that concept. We’ve now moved toward a more traditional roguelike idea. We believe we have a lot of horizontal content worth exploring, and the goal of this mode is to let players build complete, interesting setups in about 30 minutes by cleverly combining the elements they’re given. I’ve had a pretty busy month with real-life obligations, so we haven’t progressed as much as we’d hoped, but things are picking up again. We’ll enter production once we’ve nailed down everything needed to make this mode solid. After a few prototypes and brainstorming spreadsheets, we should be ready to move forward. We can’t completely recreate a roguelike at the level of a game built from scratch around that concept. We have constraints tied to what’s already in the game, which limits what’s possible. We also want to make sure this mode is accessible, even for players who’ve never tried The Slormancer before. When launching the mode, you’ll start from scratch, level 1, a basic Slorm Reaper, and your class’s first skill. From there, you’ll have to build an efficient setup based on the elements the game offers you. The run will take place across floors similar to the Battlefield. At the end of each floor, players will get to choose their path forward by selecting between three different floors, each with distinct rewards and bonuses. Every few floors, you’ll face a boss (campaign bosses, not procedurally generated ones), until you reach the final boss. During the run, the player will build their character based on what they acquire: When leveling up: choose 1 new Skill “card” (see the menu below) from 3 options. When closing a Breach: gain 1 stat bonus from 3 options. When closing a Cataclysmic Breach: gain 1 Ancestral Skill from 3 options. …and so on. Simplified Character Building We started with an accessibility constraint: the entire build must fit into a single menu. For a rogue mode meant to be played in around 30 minutes, there should be no need to juggle the 6 or 7 different interfaces usually used to manage your build. To keep things simple, there won’t be gear management. Instead, you’ll gain regular stat boosts that can easily be directed toward the attributes most useful for your current build. Legendary effects will appear separately as passives. We’ve also separated elements that can stack indefinitely (like Ancestral Tree passives or stats) from elements that replace one another, such as Slorm Reapers or Primary Skills. Here’s a look at the build menu prototype: Imbue Skills and Ancestral Skills are grouped as “cards,” just like class skills, and replace the previous configuration when selected. One issue we had to solve was related to the game’s many stats. There are dozens, and not all are inherently useful in this mode. However, most of them have at least one synergy or Slorm Reaper that gives them a reason to exist. So we decided to keep all stats in the game but simplify how they’re obtained. If we had removed some stats, certain Slorm Reapers or legendary effects would have instantly become obsolete, which we wanted to avoid. A roguelike usually ends in one of two ways: either the player dies, or they reach the end of the run. The question of player death came up, because once you reach a certain point, the game isn’t particularly efficient at killing experienced players. During the campaign, once you find your first Life Regen or Life on Hit stat, difficulty drops sharply. To avoid that, while still keeping Life on Hit, Leech, etc., we’re changing (in this mode only) how and when health can be recovered, making fights more tactical than in other modes. Limiting out-of-combat healing is being strongly considered. We also ran into another issue with mana. If a player picks a skill they can’t actually afford to cast, they can’t immediately or reactively adjust their mana pool, regen, or reduce the skill’s mana cost by removing an upgrade. In this mode, if the player runs out of mana, the skill will still cast, but its damage will be reduced in proportion to the missing mana. The idea is that if a player’s mana management isn’t great early on, it can improve as the run goes on, and the skill will become more effective over time. These are just a few of the design problems we’re thinking through. For now, we have a system that feels robust enough to enter production. We’ll no doubt face many challenges along the way, so the more stable the foundation, the better. We haven’t yet tackled certain topics such as Skill upgrades, Slorm Reaper upgrades, NPCs and their utility during a run, various events that may occur or metaprogression. I’ll save those for the next Slormite Chronicles. First thing first, we now need to make sure that our idea is working as intended. That’s all for now! Cheers!

Hello everyone and welcome to The Slormite Chronicles #53! We’ve been back at work since Monday, and as you can imagine, we haven’t made huge progress in just five days. Right now, we’re mostly at the brainstorming stage, not only about a potential upcoming update, but more broadly about how we want to organize the future of The Slormancer’s development and the new content we’d like to add. It’s always a bit tricky to talk about possible additions. Whenever we say “we’d like to add this or that,” many players understandably take it as a promise. So here’s a quick disclaimer: everything we’ll talk about today is still just ideas. Nothing is final, we’re simply sharing what’s on our minds. We’re asking ourselves: what kind of content would feel fresh for players, while also being exciting for us to develop? Then comes the question of structure: how to organize updates, how big they should be, and even when to eventually put a final bow on The Slormancer’s development. That day is still far away, but given how long game development takes (and the fact that we’d like to make new games in the future), we need to keep in mind the sustainability of creating updates for The Slormancer. The goal is to ensure we don’t run out of resources before finishing this project, and also leave room for the next one. That said, there’s still plenty of time to deliver meaningful updates before saying farewell. Adding a New Game Mode That empty slot at the bottom of the Expeditions menu? It’s meant to be filled at some point. We’re currently exploring different directions for this last game mode. The main idea is to leverage the full horizontal variety of the game. One of the challenges of making an RPG as a small team is that it’s not always “profitable”: players usually pick a single class and stick with it, which means they miss out on two-thirds of the content. Most don’t fully explore the Slorm Reapers they find, or try all the Skills available. In the end, someone rushing through The Slormancer might only see 10% of the effects and mechanics we’ve built. That’s not necessarily a problem, but we’d love to give players fun, quick, and easy ways to discover all that content in different ways. Rogue Mode? One idea we’re considering is a roguelike-style run, where the hero starts from scratch (like in Hades or Dead Cells) for the duration of an Expedition. After each floor or level, players would pick upgrades, Skills, Reaper effects, Legendaries, Ancestral Skills, etc.... focusing only on short-term synergies for that run, without worrying about long-term progression. Survivor Mode? Here’s another concept we’re excited about: “Bryan’s Training Camp.” In this mode, players would actually control Bryan, whose role is to keep the hero alive with supporting skills, while the hero moves and fights automatically (and often recklessly). Players could give simple orders or directly assist with Bryan’s arsenal of attacks and support spells. This is the first idea we want to prototype, to see if the concept feels fun. We’re already imagining build options for Bryan through meta-progression, and for the hero via simple in-run choices. Think of it as a system where the hero auto-casts skills (not limited to three) every X seconds, like Vampire Survivors. This would be an entirely optional fifth mode, offering an alternative way to play alongside the existing content. Other Ideas? If you have suggestions, now’s the perfect time! We’re deep in brainstorming, so every bit of feedback helps. No matter the mode, the goal would be to push as far as possible in each run, with rewards that feed back into the main game, an alternative to the Battlefield or Forge for farming gear, goldus, and more, but in a less repetitive way. The goal is not to add another layer of endgame power creep. Instead, we want a fun alternative that lets players quickly experiment with everything, while still earning rewards. The Business Model We’re also thinking about how best to release new content. Two models we really like are: Old school: a paid “expansion” with a large chunk of new content released all at once. Free-to-play style: new content released for free, alongside optional cosmetic skins to support development. We’re exploring other possibilities, but it will probably be one of these two. Seasonal events and “games as a service” aren’t really our style, so that’s not the direction we want to take. One thing Early Access has taught us is that each update delays development by 2–3 weeks (testing + bug fixing). For us, a full expansion would likely be the fastest way to deliver the final content we want to add. Did Someone Say “Expansion”? Yes, and of course, no expansion in a hack’n’slash would be complete without… new classes. Alongside a new game mode, new classes are something we’re strongly considering (but again, read the disclaimer, no promises yet!). We’re really excited about this, since designing classes is honestly one of the most fun things for us. Now that the core game’s features are complete, it’s much easier to fit in new skills that work within the existing system. Did someone say Necromancer? A Pile of Ideas As you can see, things are still very up in the air, even for us. The next few weeks will mostly be about iterating on these game mode concepts to see what sticks. In parallel, we’re also continuing work on new skins. Some concepts already exist, though nothing we can show just yet. That’s all for now! Cheers!